|
|
Society
The
Tale of a Village
In Amba, a remote village in Rama Block
of Jhabua District inhabited entirely by Bhils, the National Centre for
Human Settlements and Environment, acting under the sponsorship of the
Jhabua District administration and zila panchayat is managing a micro
watershed in this and other villages in the area. The Bhils, who are the
most individualistic of tribals, prefer to live in their own little
family ‘falia’ on top of a hillock isolated from other villagers, are
not a gregarious tribe, unlike the Gonds. This means that in the matter
of coming together for doing community work the Bhils have always been
more reluctant than the Gonds. The miracle in districts such as Jhabua
is that thanks to the watershed development program a new sense of
community organization has developed amongst the Bhils. This has
manifested in itself in terms of active watershed development committees
and user groups and even more active self help groups of women who have
come together both for micro credit and for productive activity. This
new feeling of community has brought about a change in the crime
situation in Jhabua and is becoming a major instrument of checking
seasonal migration. The watershed development program, therefore, is not
only a major success as an environmental program and an economic program
but is also a harbinger of social change in the Bhils tract.
The watershed development program, by demonstrating that with proper
treatment of an entire micro watershed it is possible to change the
water regime of a whole village hitherto notorious only for drought, has
brought to the villages a new ray of hope. Everywhere that the program
has been undertaken the wells have been recharged, soil erosion checked,
irrigated cultivation has become possible in patches and there is a
dramatic increase in fuel and fodder availability. For example, in
village Khardpadi of Jhabua District one single hillock of approximately
480 hectares has yielded fodder worth rupees four and a half lakhs in
the year 2002-2003 despite a very poor monsoon. This is in addition to a
revival of the natural vegitation of shrubs and trees and a very healthy
survival rate of planted saplings. In turn the fodder has been partly
used for distribution amongst the members of the user groups and partly
sold to give the village development fund an accretion of approximately
rupees two lakh. This, mind you, in a region where the village together
could not produce rupees two thousand in the past. As a corollary to the
above is the formation of self help groups in which women come together
and contribute anything between rupees thirty and fifty per month to the
common kitty. Individual bank accounts are opened for each member of the
self help groups and the groups are associated by the Swa-shakti Yojana
of government and the banks, which have begun to have great trust in
these groups. The self help groups are not only an organization of micro
credit but they are now major foci of skill development,
entrepreneurship development and the promotion of small businesses. What
is more they are also very active on the social front with adult
literacy, hygiene and health and reduction in alcoholism amongst men
being some of the thrust areas.
However, returning to Amba, in this village there has been a substantial
improvement in availability of water because of the treatment of the
watershed, which includes loose boulder gulley plugs, earthen check
dams, ponds and masonry stop dams. People want to use this water for
irrigation, but electricity is in short supply and is available
erratically. One of the self help groups has shown initiative and
purchased a 7.5 kw/kva diesel generator set, which has been mounted on a
makeshift trolley with modified bullock cart wheels for mobility. The
generator is rented out to the local cultivators at rupees two hundred
per day, with diesel being provided by the user. This costs another
rupees two hundred fifty to three hundred per day, which means that the
borrower spends approximately rupees five hundred per day for irrigating
his fields. This in a state which hitherto had claimed to provide free
electricity to farmers. Viewed from one angle the generator set
represents initiative and innovativeness on the part of the Bhil women
and the cultivators in acquiring a piece of equipment which locally
generates electricity. Viewed from another angle it represents a total
failure of M P Government and and M P Electricity Board to provide
adequate power to villages, thus forcing the villagers to resort to one
of the most expensive methods of generating power for irrigation. I came
away from Amba elated at the type of work being done in the village and
the ready adaptability of the tribal villagers to technology. I also
came back sad that a state in which I have lived and served for forty
five years and which was not very long ago surplus in power is now so
impoverished that it is making the poor Bhils pay through their nose for
what should be their birth right, affordable, reliable and readily
available electricity.
Paul Theroux, in his book, “Riding The Iron Rooster”, has written that
nothing is believed in China till government denies it. Amba proves that
this is doubly true of India. Promises, double talk the ‘illusion city’
which is Gehlot’s latest gift to Rajasthan, seem to be the political
rule of the day. What is sacrificed in the process ? Good governance,
accountability and, above all, electricity for all the Ambas of India
and Madhya Pradesh.
–
M N Buch
February 9, 2003
Top
|
Society
|
